Leader Programme Allocations Raises Questions

Independent TD Catherine Murphy has raised concerns in how the funding from the Leader programme has been distributed in the most recent allocations by the Minister. Ms Murphy drew attention to the fact that some Counties have been significantly disadvantaged in terms of the ratio of funding allocated in proportion to their population.“Firstly I think it’s unfortunate that the Minister chose to make this announcement immediately prior to the mass exodus of Government Ministers from the Country for St Patrick’s Day and just as a Dáil recess falls due which means there is no immediate mechanism to directly ask the Minister the rationale for some of these decisions.”

“You would have to question why Kildare, with a population of 210,000 gets significantly less funding than Leitrim for example with a population of just under 32,000. It’s certainly not as if there isn’t a Queue of appropriate projects in Kildare that would have been crying out for the funding. Many parts of Kildare are very badly affected by unemployment problems and funding for Leader projects can be crucial in providing new initiatives in areas most in need.”“I plan to follow this up with the Minister at the earliest possible opportunity and make the case for a fairer system of distributing these vital funds.”